Chapter 2

"The resort staff dropped off a bottle of wine and some stemless glasses while you were getting Noah to bed." Rafael held out a half full glass to Olivia as she stepped out onto the deck, taking a seat next to him. The soothing sound of the Atlantic Ocean crashing against the beach echoed in the air.

The night sky was clear, stars twinkling from lightyears away and a half full moon shined down on them. These were stars they couldn't or wouldn't see under a Manhattan skyline, and he couldn't help gazing up at them.

"Thank you," Olivia replied, lifting the glass to her lips. "You made my boy's day, Raf. He wouldn't stop talking about you until his eyes slipped shut from exhaustion."

"He's made my day, as well. You both have," Rafael admitted, shifting his gaze from the sky to her, lips quirked in a half smile. "I've missed you and this." He waved a hand between the two of them.

"Me, too." She took a long sip of wine before looking over at him, dark eyes beseeching. "I'm sorry, Rafael, about… well, about everything, honestly. I lost myself for a bit there, forgot who I was. Who you helped me become. Who I wanted to be."

Rafael nodded. He understood. He had his own crisis of self a handful of years ago and knew how easy it was to lose sight of oneself. Still, he had hoped for better from Olivia. He expected to not be tossed aside like yesterday's garbage for someone who disappeared on her without a word for over ten years. Rafael at least kept in touch when he left.

Cocking his head to the side, he gave into the curiosity that had been eating him alive. "I take it things didn't work out with Stabler like you hoped?"

She laughed mirthlessly, her face flushing. "Quite frankly, it didn't even start. He wanted more but, I can't be with someone I can't trust, and I can't trust Elliot, not anymore, not like I used to. He's changed but expected me to remain the same as he left me. I can't be that Olivia again, not after everything I've been through."

Olivia was rambling, but Rafael soaked in every word. Perhaps his hopes hadn't been quite as dashed as he thought.

"So, yeah, that leaves Elliot and I as nothing more than friends, which is for the best. I need more of an intellectual challenge in a partner, anyway." She smiled broadly, eyes twinkling in the moonlight as she met his gaze.

"I could pretend to be sorrowful that things didn't work out between you and the Neanderthal, but we both know that would be disingenuous," he sassed back.

"Right, we wouldn't want that now, would we?"

They fell right into the same old banter and teasing flirtations, their chairs shifting slowly closer as the night went on. It was near midnight when they finally called it a night.

"Meet for breakfast?" Rafael asked, head tilted to the side and lips quirked.

"Of course! Eight o'clock?"

"See you then." He pressed soft lips to her cheek with a wink before striding off along the sandy path to his own bungalow.

"Hi Uncle Rafa!" Noah greeted as Rafael approached their table in the Great Room. "What are we doing today?"

Olivia shared a smile with him before turning to Noah. "Let Rafa get some coffee, then we'll figure out what we're doing today." She stood, following Rafael to the next room where a continental breakfast buffet was setup.

"How did you sleep?" Rafael asked, pouring a mug of steaming coffee, eyes focused on the dark liquid.

"Best night's sleep in a year, honestly. You?"

"Same," he replied. She believed it. Those old familiar signs of exhaustion and stress were gone from his face, his shoulders unburdened of the weight of the world they used to carry. He looked refreshed, sunglasses perched atop un-styled hair and green eyes gleaming, ready for adventure.

The sudden, overwhelming urge to kiss him swept over her when he took that first sip of dark liquid and smiled at her. Olivia refilled her own cup to distract herself.

"I was thinking of taking a jet ski out for a spin this morning. Would you and Noah be interested in that?" Rafael asked on their way back to their table.

"I think we would love that, Raf." She let him share the plan with Noah as they nibbled on breakfast.

"Can I drive my own jet ski?" the boy asked with an impish grin.

"Definitely not. You're not old enough to drive," Olivia laughed. "You can ride with Uncle Rafa though, if you'd like."

"Yes, please," Noah replied immediately.

Already dressed in their beachwear, the walk from the Great Room to the marina was short, Noah skipping ahead of the adults in his excitement for the adventure ahead. Olivia and Rafael's hands brushed as they walked, sending fascinating little tingles up her arm. The urge to grasp his hand, to entwine their fingers, became too much to bear and she caved.

Heart in her throat, she latched onto his hand the next time it brushed against hers, tangling their fingers. Rafael responded with a soft squeeze of his hand before raising their joined hands to his lips for a light kiss. It all felt so right, being there with him, walking along holding hands.

Noah beamed at them when they reached the marina, his bright eyes clocking their joined hands. Without a word, he grasped Rafael's free hand as they continued to the floating dock where the jet skis waited. To the rest of the world, they looked like a real family on vacation together.

Resort staff fitted Noah with a lifejacket as required by the Coast Guard and let him pick which jet ski he and Rafael would take. Olivia stood aside, snapping a few pictures of the boys getting a quick safety lesson before tucking her phone and room key into a dry bag, stowing it under the seat of her own jet ski. Once they were all shown how to operate the vessels, they took off at a leisurely pace to venture around the island. Noah sat in front of Rafael, helping him steer and directing where to go. Once they started to feel comfortable operating the jet skis, Noah insisted they race his mom to see who could go faster.

For the next hour, they zoomed around the open water, bouncing in their seats as the jet skis cruised over the swells. Noah hooted in delight every time they passed Olivia or spun in a circle around her. After a while, they moved closer to the shore and jumped into the water to relax for a bit. Olivia let Noah take off his lifejacket so he could dive underwater with a pair of goggles to search for sand dollars and sea stars, leaving her and Rafael to float closer to each other as they chatted.

"You look really relaxed and happy," she noted as Rafael floated on his back, wet hair flattened across his forehead and a serene smile upon his lips. He looked younger, too, like the time never passed from when they worked together.

"That's because I am. This resort is great and spending time with you and Noah makes me happy." His hand reached through the water to pull her closer. "I could say the same thing about you. I don't think I've seen you look this happy since the day Noah's adoption became official."

"It's hard to not be happy in such a vibrant environment with such wonderful company," Olivia replied, leaning ever closer to him as they shifted to plant their feet on the ocean bottom.

Neither was sure who moved first, but their lips met in a salty kiss moments before Noah appeared with a splash, two sea stars clutched in his hands.

Sitting under the shade of the poolside tiki bar, Rita Calhoun sipped some fruity drink that was not at all her usual style but was refreshing enough in the oppressive heat. She was beginning to wonder why she decided Florida was a good vacation destination at any point between May and October. It was godawful hot in the blazing sun and only moderately less so in the shade. The breeze and ice-cold drinks were the only things keeping her from melting on the spot.

She was just ordering another round when Barba, Olivia, and the rugrat entered the pool area. They looked every bit the part of a loving family as they chatted away, allowing Noah to jump cannonball style into the mostly empty pool. Rita watched with a discerning gaze and sense of satisfaction as her longtime friend and the SVU Captain held hands and shared tender smiles as they moved toward the tiki bar.

They were in their own world when they took seats at the bar and only caught Rita's eye when they turned to keep an eye on Noah as he swam in the pool.

"Where have you been hiding? We wondered if you were even here," Rafael said, standing to greet Rita with a hug.

Staring back with a quirked brow, Rita smirked at them both. "I was staying out of sight, letting the magic happen."

Olivia laughed at the confirmation that the woman planned it all. "Thank you again, Rita. You don't know how much I needed this."

"Oh, I think I have some idea," Rita replied, hugging Olivia. "Lord only knows how long you two would have taken to speak to each other again without an intervention and you both needed a vacation. It all worked out."

"Whatever would we do without our fairy godmother?" Rafael sassed, earning chuckles from both women.

"Mind your manners or I won't offer to watch my future nephew so you two can have a night to yourselves," Rita returned.

That effectively shut the former ADA up for a while as his thoughts turned toward spending the night with Olivia, old fantasies resurfacing while the women chatted and sipped their drinks. Rafael had to shut down that line of thinking, however, as he felt the first stirrings of an impending erection. Downing his drink in two swallows, he dove into the pool to entertain Noah while the women continued conversing.

That evening, the three of them enjoyed watching the sunset on the beach before heading back to Olivia's bungalow. Once Noah went to bed, she informed him that Rita planned to take Noah on her yacht the following day and keep him overnight, allowing them time to spend together and explore the new developments between them. The idea pleased him so much they made out like teenagers for an hour before calling it a night. Tomorrow would be a long and eventful day, if Rafael had any say about it.

TBC